Piece of Bay City history is mistakenly destroyed

The last standing remnant of a company that historians say helped establish Bay City has been torn down in a construction mishap.

Last week, a contractor mistakenly took down a 20-foot-tall guard tower that once stood at the entrance to the former Industrial Brownhoist complex. Preservationists say the structure likely was more than 100 years old.

Crews are working on a new development project at the site.

The person responsible says he feels badly about it.

Steve Birnbaum is the president of American Excavation, a Saginaw-based construction company serving as a contractor at the Uptown Bay City site. He says he was operating a 150,000-pound excavation machine while yanking out a nearby fence.